Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish believes the EPPP is just a brazen
attempt by the wealthy elite to comply with Uefa’s new ‘home-grown’
regulations.

Last month, our team Crystal Palace beat Manchester United in the Carling Cup quarter-finals.

There were many reasons for us to be pleased that night, but what really made me particularly proud as I looked on at Old Trafford was that three of our best performers were players we had reared ourselves.

They included Nathaniel Clyne and Sean Scannell, kids who grew up within a couple of miles of Selhurst Park, and Wilfried Zaha, born in the Ivory Coast but now an adopted south Londoner.

I made the most of our success that night because, in my opinion, the days when smaller clubs are able to give their bigger rivals a bloody nose will soon be over.

The Premier League would like us to believe that the motives behind EPPP are entirely altruistic: that it will improve the fortunes of the national team and ultimately safeguard the future of English football.

Do not get me wrong, this is not about a dislike of Manchester United, Chelsea or whoever.

I respect those clubs immensely and I don’t blame them for pushing for the best possible deal.

If I was in their shoes and given the power I would probably do the same. But surely it is the Football Association, acting in everyone’s interests, and not the Premier League, that should be regulating the game.

Don’t be fooled. EPPP is not – and never has been – about the England team.

Since when have the top Premier League clubs been concerned over the fate of England?

They might not want us to have a bad national side but it’s certainly not their major consideration.

Rather, this is a brazen attempt by the Premier League’s wealthy elite to cherry-pick the best youngsters from Football League clubs so they can comply with Uefa’s new regulations over how many home-grown players should be in their first-team squads.

EPPP’s supporters will point out that the Football League voted to adopt the plan, but let’s not pretend clubs were acting independent of outside pressures: the reason this was passed was down to apathy and fear of the consequences if it was rejected.

To put the vote into context, last season the Premier League agreed a new deal to provide solidarity money to the Football League and increase parachute payments for sides relegated from the top flight.

At the same time, the clubs were told that there was this EPPP scheme coming along which we would be expected to support in return.

There were veiled threats of money being taken away and that has scared a lot of clubs, and understandably so.

But the long-term effects of EPPP, which will lead to top youngsters being snatched away from Football League clubs for derisory amounts of compensation, threaten to be far more damaging.

The details of how EPPP will be put into effect are truly astonishing.

We were recently told that under the new plan, any club with a Class One academy – the highest level facility, which only the most wealthy will be able to maintain – can come to our training ground, provided they give 48 hours notice, to watch our kids.

Is there any other business where a company’s competitors would be allowed that kind of access, so they could effectively cream off its top talent? It’s insane – like letting lions into a petting zoo.

But our sport is about more than just the moneyed elite.

At the moment, we have a vibrant sport with great attendances and thriving academies which give kids a chance to play for their local club, creating a precious bond with the supporters.

Our football pyramid is the envy of the world.

EPPP could destroy all that.

Strip away our best young players and how can we possibly hope to compete?

The gulf between the top sides and the rest will become a chasm and the strength of English football will just be measured by whether Manchester United can give Barcelona a game in the Champions League.

Football is a competition and competitions need regulation to be fair.

The FA, which appears to have shouldered arms on this issue, needs to think again.